How To Keep Writing Your Dissertation When The World Seems Crazy

By Kathryn Peterson, PhD | Dissertation Coach
Originally published December 5, 2018 | Updated January 9, 2026

“I hadn’t realized how much current events were affecting my ability to work on my dissertation.” When a client said this to me, it landed hard, because I was feeling it too. The world felt loud. Heavy. Unsettled. And on top of that, many dissertation writers were dealing with very real personal stress: health issues, family responsibilities, financial pressure, housing problems, caregiving, job instability. Life was not politely waiting for anyone to finish Chapter 4.

Around that same time, I found myself struggling to focus as well. Between exterminators coming in and out of my house, a plumbing emergency, and, somewhat dramatically, cat scratch fever from one of my beloved cats, sustained concentration felt almost impossible.

So I started asking people I trust (writers, scholars, researchers) how they kept working when everything felt chaotic. Their answers were different, but a few stayed with me.

Focus on What You Can Influence (Even If It Feels Small)

One friend, a music professor, told me that he focuses on what he calls his “little corner of the world.” He believes that by showing up and doing excellent work there, he contributes, indirectly but meaningfully, to something larger.

I liked that idea. It helped. But it didn’t fully settle my restlessness.

Another friend, a historian, shared that he had stepped away from academic work for a while to engage more directly in community and political efforts. What surprised him was that this experience clarified how important it was for him to finish his book, so he could return to that work with a sense of completion rather than guilt.

That resonated more deeply. It allowed space for engagement and commitment.

Then a novelist friend said something deceptively simple:

“I treat my writing like a job. You wouldn’t walk away from your job every time the news cycle got intense. You’d still show up and do the work.”

It was blunt, but it made sense.

And yet, many academic writers don’t experience their writing that way. Dissertation work often feels fragile, optional, or perpetually postponable—especially when everything else feels urgent.

So I want to offer a slightly different framing.

Think of Your Writing as an Anchor

Instead of seeing your dissertation as another demand, what if you saw it as an anchor?

Something you return to regularly (not necessarily every day, and not for heroic stretches of time) but consistently. Fifteen minutes. Thirty minutes. An hour, if that’s available.

When everything else feels unstable, your writing practice can become one of the few predictable things in your week. A place you return to. A signal to yourself that some part of your life remains steady.

In the middle of chaos, the work itself can become the eye of the hurricane.

Now, if you’re thinking, “But I already avoid the dissertation. How could that possibly feel calming?” I hear you.

I really do.

When I was writing my own dissertation, I sometimes had panic attacks so intense that I would lie down on the cold tile floor of the bathroom and press on my stomach just to calm myself down. If that’s where you are, you deserve support to help untangle that fear. You don’t need to push through it alone.

But if you’re past that point, or can get there with help, you may find that writing doesn’t always drain you. Sometimes, it steadies you.

You Didn’t Start This Because You Hated It

On some level, you began this project because something about it mattered to you.

You may be far beyond the honeymoon phase now. That initial excitement may feel distant or nonexistent. That’s normal.

Still, you can reconnect with your work the way you might reconnect with an old friend: not with fireworks, but with familiarity. And if even that feels like too much, you can treat your writing time simply as a place of normalcy.

Everything else might feel unpredictable. But for this small window of time, you know what you’re doing. You show up. You write a little. You stop.

And that’s enough.

The World Will Still Be There, Whether You Write or Not

Here’s the truth many dissertation writers need to hear: The world will not become less chaotic if you stop writing your dissertation.

Carving out a small amount of time to work will not make things worse. In fact, progress, however modest, often reduces the background stress and guilt that makes everything else feel heavier.

And who knows? The work you’re doing might eventually contribute something meaningful. Insight. Knowledge. Change. Even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.

For now, your job isn’t to fix everything.

It’s to keep going gently, steadily, imperfectly.

Want Support Staying Grounded and Moving Forward?

If the world feels overwhelming and your dissertation feels stuck, you don’t have to navigate that alone.

At The Dissertation Coach, we help writers:

• Build realistic writing routines during stressful times
• Reduce avoidance and emotional overload
• Stay connected to their work without burning out
• Keep moving forward, even when life is loud